It is possibly the oldest STONE monument in India. Your history teacher taught you that it was built by Ashoka the Great of the Mauryan dynasty. And you have seen it in umpteen travel brochures. You know the Sanchi Stupa, of course.  Can you conjure up a mental picture of the monument? Does it look like this? Good. Now, guess which part of the structure was built by Ashoka? If you answered  “ALL OF IT” – Congratulations; you remembered everything your history teacher taught you. But your teacher was wrong. The right answer is, “NONE OF IT”! Surprised? The original […]

Inside the Qutub Minar Complex is a very ornate doorway leading to the Qutub Minar – the Alai Darwaza. Did you know that it is believed to be the first true dome built in India?  First, a quick introduction to the man who built this structure – Alaudin Khilji. You may have heard of him – a heartless human, a ruthless king, an evil fanatic… There are many stories about his terrible doings. Some say these acts were political necessities, and others swear they were the product of a deranged mind. How much of it is true? This short video […]

India is dotted with many old British buildings – some grand and iconic like the Gateway of India, and some odd and quirky like the current Vivekananda memorial in Chennai that was once a British Ice House! 

You might have heard of a kingdom named Travancore. Today, it is a part of Kerala. But did you know that right till 1925, some queens of Travancore were quite a big political powercenter by themselves? We are going to talk about one particular queen – Rani Sethu Lakshmi Bayi. She became the regent of the Travancore kingdom, and effectively ruled it from 1924 to 1931. She was one of Travancore’s most dynamic rulers. Interestingly, she was not born into the ruling dynasty but adopted into it. She became Queen because of a unique social custom called Matrilineal Succession. Ironically, […]